Lawn shears



T. J. CAVES LAWN SHEARS Aug. 15, 1950 Filed July 12, 1945 INVENTOR. THOMAS I. CAVE-S BY I v ATTOBN EYS Patented Aug. 15, 1950 ATENT OFFICE The present invention relates; lawns. shears which are particularlse' adapted for cutting? grass; weeds; and the:

Theprincipal, object 013;? the: presentt invention is" the provisiom 01' simple; practical lawn shears: designed and: adaptedito enable? the. user" to assume a: comfortable uprightposition; while operating the shears;- to: the that the work ofcuttingsmay he pe'rformed reedilm andiefiicientl y with a minimum of discomfort: to the user;

fincther object? ofithe present? invention is to providegmassshears/which: are convenient to useg positive int-heihoperation; andwhich are so designed that they may readily manufactured at a relativeIyloWcost-hw mass production meth ods: r

A- fihrtherv obiectef'thei present invention is: to provide larwn shears of simple and durable construction which have a relatively long life service and in which any readily replaceable in the" event ofibreakagaor bending of the partsso that it will perform-z intended function:

Another" object of the present? invention is to provide? a lawn sheandevicehaving a; pair-of pivot'ally: mounted blades operatively connected operating; means for moving both. blades uporr exert-ion of a downward pressure on the elbngated handle for operating the blade actu= sting mechanism. I

Qther objects of this invention will appear in the following description and" appended claims; reference: being had tothe accompanyiiigi drawihgs forming a part-.1 of this: specification wherein likereference'charaoters designatecorrespondingr parts" in the: sever-a1 views:

In the drawingstj V Fig, I is; a perspective; viewr'ofa pair oflawn' shears embodying" the" present; invention.

Fig; 2 is a front elevation of the shear blades; and, blade actuating, mechanism of the device shown in Fig: I. I

Fig. 3 is a'longitudinal section; taken substantially on the Iihe 3'-3 ofFig; 2 in the. direction of the' arrows. I I

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is tocliei undetstbddi thati tlleiinvention is not limited in its application to the details-10f eensthuction and arrangement'lofl parts; illustrateelin: the accompanying drawings,- sincwthe inaeration capable of] ethen embodiments? and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limit tion.

The: lawn. shearer of: the" present invention" in cliide: a; pan" of shear? blades; I9 and H pivoted on; a; central pivot t2 tonne end of which is attached a curved ground engaging" pressure plate t3; @n the: other: end: of the central pivot att'achedE the bottom; portion" of: a, vertical rigid; bracket M, which. extends upwardly into thahousing ['5 secured to an elongated tubular handle l fiiiwhichz is suitably benfiat it's othere'nd to form: an singularly extending handle or gripping portion 30. The to o of the vertical rigid bracket; It; provided" with. a spring seat I! havinga, vertically extendingpilot I 8: A compressiom spring I9 is seated on -the springseat 1 around: the pilot is and? hasits topportion engagediby intuirned lugs: 20 provided on the top portion of thehousing l5;

The shear blades I0 and H are" each provided with a vertically extending: actuating studi Phe actuating stud attached to bla'de I isindicated by=the numeral 2 and that"attached tobla'de H indicatedi by: the numeral 2 21 A double bell crank yoke- 23 is pivotally connected at its fulcmmpoint by the cross-pin 2'4 with the vertical bracket M and is pivotally connectedat one end by: the cross-pin 25 with thehousing FEE The yoke member Z3 is provided with extending lugs 26 and 28 on its opposite end. A slot z Fi'spr'ovided in the extending lug 29''- for engagement with the verticatstud zl on the blade It. A slot i's-providedin the extending lug 28 forengagfin'g tlievertical stud 22" on the blade l I,

To operate the lawn shears of the presentim ventio'n the pressure platei3 is plac'edin contact with the ground surface. shown in Figs. 2 and 3f thepressure plate I3' is curved toi provide a" rocker surface for contacting the ground surface and provide a bearing, thereon through a wide" range- 01 an'gularity off the" handle l6, reIae tivetothe'gltound. a l

Thusbyrockingthe; handle [6 onkthe curved pressure" plate I3" the operator may regulate), the distanceof the blades. I0 and H, above the ground? surface; and. thus regulate; the height of cut to he made. Upon the application of pressure on the. handle, L6,. the, pressure, plate- 13? acts; as a reaction member. so that the pres sure lappliedon the. handle it" efiects ardownward movement at. the housing. [5? relative tov the: rigid vertical? housing [4; and relative. to the shear blades [U and IT, This movement is resiliently resisted by the spring I 9 which is compressed by the continued forces exerted on the handle IS. The downward movement of the housing l5 causes the yoke 23 to pivot at its fulcrum about the cross pin 24 and to exert a force through the lugs 26 and 28 and the slots .21 and 28 on the actuating studs 2| and 22, causing the blades it and H to pivot about the stud l2 and close with a shearing action. Upon release of the pressure on the handle 16, the spring is returns the parts to their initial positions and opens the shear blades l and H for the next operation.

An important feature of the present construction is the double bell-crank yoke member 23 which multiplies the force exerted thereon by the movement of the housing l5, and distributes this force equally to the shear blades H! and I i. This assures a uniform cutting movement of both of said blades with a readily applied force of sulficient magnitude to insure a clean cutting action by the said blades.

The blades i0 and Hare preferably stamped from sheet metal stock and then hardened. Utilizmg this. construction the cutting edges may be readily sharpened and when so sharpened will be found to hold their cutting edge during long periods of use.

From the foregoing it will be seen that all parts of the lawn shears and the operating mechanism therefor are designed for ready construction and ease of assembly in mass production. This construction provides a conveniently usable device which is readily operable with a minimum of effort exerted by the user.

When assembling the lawn shears of the present invention, the housing [5 is inverted and the spring I9 is dropped in place against the inturned lugs 20. pressure plate l3 are connected with the bottom of the vertical bracket M. The double bell crank yoke 23 is pivotally secured to the side of the vertical bracket M by the cross-pin 24. The locating studl 8 on the top of the rigid vertical bracket M is then inserted in the spring l9 and the spring seat I! thereon contacts the bottom of the spring. The ends of the double bell crank yoke 23 are then pivotally secured to the housing [5 by the cross pin 25. The tubular handle I6 is then pressed into the top portion'of the housing I5 and the lawn shears are assembled and ready for use.

I claim:

1. Lawn shears comprising a ground contacting plate, a vertically disposed rigid bracket member secured at its lower end to said ground contacting plate, a pair of horizontally disposed shearing blades mounted for pivotal movement between said ground contacting plate and said bracket member, actuating studs on the upper surfaces of said blades and in substantially diametrically opposed positions with respect to the axis of pivotal movement of said blades, a housing mounted about the upper end of said bracket member and vertically moveable relative thereto, spring means operable to bias said housing vertically upwardly from said bracket member, a handle secured to said housing and operable to move said housing vertically downwardly in opposition to said spring means, and a mechanism for converting vertical forces applied to said housing to horizontal forces for pivoting said blades about said axis and including a bell crank lever pivotally connected at its fulcrum to said bracket member for movement in a vertical plane, one

arm of said bell crank lever being pivotally con-e 7 The shear blades IE3 and H and the 4 nected to said housing whereby vertical movement of said housing will cause pivotal movement of said one arm about said fulcrum, the other arm of said bell crank lever being bifurcated to extend to each of said actuating studs, the outer ends of said other arm having slots therein for receiving said actuating studs whereby pivotal movement of said other arm will cause a force to be applied to each of said actuating studs substantially normal to the path of movement thereof.

2. In a lawn shears, a vertically disposed rigid bracket member, a pair of horizontally disposed shearing blades pivotally mounted on the lower end of said rigid bracket member, each of said blades having a stud on its upper surface spaced radially from the point of pivotal movement of said blades, a vertical force applying member operatively associated with said rigid bracket member for vertical movement with respect thereto, and a bell crank lever pivotally connected at its fulcrum to said bracket member for movement in a vertical plane, one arm of said bell crank lever being pivotally connected to said vertical force applying member, the other arm of said double bell crank lever being bifurcated to extend toeach of said actuating studs, the outer ends'of said other arm having slots therein for receiving said studs, said double bell crank lever, force applying member and studs being so constructed and arranged that said one arm will be substantially normal to a portion of the path of vertical movement of said force applying member and said other arm will be substantially normal to a portion of the pathsof movement of said studs during-closing and opening of said shears.

3. Lawn shears comprising a ground contacting plate, a vertically disposed rigid bracket member secured at itslower end to said ground contacting plate, a pair of horizontally disposed shearing blades mounted for pivotal movement between said ground contacting plate and said bracket member, a housing mounted about the upper end of said bracket member and vertically movable relative thereto, a coil spring seated at its one end on said bracket member and at its other end insaid housing for biasing said housing vertically upward,.a handle secured to said housing and extending vertically upward therefrom for moving said housing vertically downward in opposition to said coil spring and a bell crank lever pivotally connected at its fulcrum to said bracket member for movement in a vertical plane, one arm of said bell crank lever being pivotally connected tosaid housing, the other arm of said bell crank lever being bifurcated to provide a connection to each of said shearing blades at points radially outwardly from the axis of pivotal movement of said shearing blades, said points being located on a straight line passing through said axis when said shears-are in a partially closed position,

THOMAS J. CAVES.

"R ERE CES CITED The following references are of record in the 

